Just read that a Japanese in-betweener earns approximately ¥80,000 per month. That’s €642.78. Or $816.82. In other words, that’s horrendous. That makes things here in Germany appear in a warm, cuddly glow. Budgets here have only been halved over the last 10 years, while expectations for animation quality have increased ten-fold.

Where’s this heading? I can’t help wondering how much an efficiency-increasing tool that I hope to get out there into the hands of independent animators will be used to push margins even further. More minutes, more output, more something objectively measurable so that we can sell it. Shite on the content.

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Inbetweeners in traditional animation are still needed, just – they’re no longer being treated as apprentice animators, but as low-skill task force. The result of which can be seen in the animation, but also will leave its mark on the future generations.
Me thinks we need tools to make inbetweening efficient, so that the more skilled learning artists can be paid to do it.